How To Pair Your Vintage Engagement Rings To Your Wedding Bands

Weddings are dreamt about by so many people around the world, right down to the tiny details.

Engagement rings are one of the most beloved elements of a perfect wedding. They represent the new step you’re making in your life and the bond you plan on nurturing. There’s just one problem. Your vintage engagement ring doesn’t really look like your wedding bands.

How do you overcome this mismatch? We’ll walk you through some tips on making everything picture perfect just in time for your special day. 

How to Pair Your Vintage Engagement Ring with Your Wedding Ring

Don’t let a wrinkle in your plans get you down! A mismatched vintage engagement ring is an excellent opportunity to let your creative side strut its stuff. 

There are a few ways you can knit everything together as seamlessly as if it were planned. 

Commission Your Own Custom Wedding Band

When in doubt? Get a custom order that speaks to the unique parts of you. 

You can commission an experienced designer to make a bespoke wedding band. Try specifying details such as:

• Size
• Color
• Materials
• Design
• Stone

Open Wedding Bands

An increasingly popular choice for wedding bands is the ‘open’ design: this is where the band has a small gap to show the skin underneath.

Delicate and elegant, this shakes up the classic design of the ring without going hog wild. The ring can still be embedded with stones or engraved with a dainty design. The ring is often very thin, however, so keep that in mind if you want a more lavish creation.

Shaped Wedding Bands

This term may come as a little strange, but it’s quite neat! A shaped wedding band trades the classic ring in favor of a looping or dipping shape. 

This can be fun to pair with a vintage engagement ring because they both slot into one another. Consider this option if you like wearing multiple rings at a time or want to get playful with your designs.

Try a Stylish Gap

This part is tricky, but can be incredibly fulfilling. You can try pairing the vintage engagement ring above or beneath the wedding band for a complete look.

This is best done when both rings already have a similar color scheme, design, or size. 

Pairing Your Engagement Ring and Wedding Band by Era

Perhaps the easiest way to pair your vintage engagement ring with a wedding band is by picking one from the same era from which the engagement ring came. Or you can choose one that comes in a similar style to wedding bands of that era. 

Victorian Era Engagement Rings

Victorian engagement rings were designed with romance and sentimentality in mind. They were typically halo or solitaire designs with Belcher and Buttercup settings that were both beautiful and protected the stunning stone in the middle.

 Floral details and motifs were found on the shoulders of many Victoria-era engagement rings, but there were also many minimalist designs. Victorian engagement rings are known for their low profiles that are easy to wear. 

Victorian Style Wedding Bands

Wedding bands from the Victorian era were commonly wide, straight cigar bands, which were simple, smooth bands that came in yellow gold and warm rose. 

Art Nouveau Era Engagement Rings

Art Nouveau engagement rings featured elongated designs with wheat and floral motifs. They were inspired by the female form and the natural world. They were often made with green golf paired with a platinum head to accentuate the diamond. 

Art Nouveau Era Wedding Bands

Like engagement rings of the era, Art Nouveau wedding bands featured wheat and floral patterns with green gold and platinum.

Edwardian Era Engagement Rings

Diamonds set into platinum are part of the stately, opulent style that helps define the Edwardian era. Edwardian engagement rings dazzle with pave settings and milgrain edging to showcase the diamonds and promote their dizzying sparkle. 

Edwardian Era Wedding Bands

Finely detailed green gold and platinum with diamond bands were typical hallmarks of Edwardian era wedding bands.  

Art Deco Era Engagement Rings

Where the feminine form inspired the Art Nouveau era engagement rings, Art Deco era engagement rings went for a more structured, masculine look with plenty of filigrees. In addition, newer die-stamping techniques allowed jewelry designers to create delicate, intricate designs that were much stronger than they looked. 

Beyond being beautiful and ornate, the filigree allowed plenty of light to strike the center of the gym, enhancing its sparkle. Diamonds and white gold were common in Art Deco engagement rings, renowned for their combination of design and beauty. 

Art Deco Era Wedding Bands

Art Deco wedding bands often came in white gold with milgrain edges and were often either forget-me-not-floral or wheat patterned. 

Retro Era Engagement Rings

It can be challenging to classify Retro era engagement rings because the area covers various styles. Retro-era engagement ring designs focused more on classical themes than trendiness. Accented shoulders with two-tone gold and illusion head settings are standard features in Retro era engagement rings. Brides of every generation love retro area engagement rings for their simple elegance that seemingly never goes out of style.

Retro Era Wedding Bands

Retro Era wedding bands often appear in two-tone or yellow gold and diamond bands. In addition, heart or floral patterned bands were also common in Retro Era wedding bands.

Related: WHAT IS 925 STERLING SILVER, AND HOW DO YOU RECOGNIZE IT?

What to Consider When Matching Wedding Bands to Your Engagement Ring

It’s understandable to want everything to fit together visually. Weddings are expensive and special occasions, after all! 

There are several details you can break down when fitting your vintage engagement rings to your wedding bands. Rings have their own visual language and can be sorted into categories to keep things convenient. 

The Style of Your Vintage Engagement Ring

It’s time to learn some jewelry terminology. Take this new knowledge with you when you visit a ring seller or designer so you can find the perfect match.

The Halo

This heavenly sounding ring style is characterized by its pavé band, a design that arranges tiny stones all along the ring. Their unique glitter looks straight out of a dream and remains one of the most popular choices today.

The Classic Solitaire

This ring style is often confused with the halo, but is separated by the fact they don’t always have stones going down the side. This is the quintessential wedding ring and is perhaps the easiest to pair due to its focus on simplicity. 

Don’t leave your wedding’s style up to chance! LaCkore Couture provides unique jewelry for all occasions to bring out your best side.

The Profile of Your Vintage Engagement Ring

What makes your vintage engagement ring stand apart from the crowd? This is referred to as the profile: the details and character that make your ring sing.

Flat Profile

This is a very popular choice for men due to its sturdy, stocky appearance. These rings have a flattened edge that wraps smoothly around the finger.

Court Profile

You’ll see this profile pop up frequently in jewelry stores. Its curved inside and outside give it a classical feel that pairs with just about anything.

Flat Court Profile

Just as the name says, the flat court design combines the flattened affect with a subtle inner curve. Keep in mind everyone’s fingers are different, so this could be the perfect one for you!

Bevelled Profile

You might not notice the differences in this subtle profile, but it’s a distinctive choice! The bevelled profile is both angular and flat. 

D Shaped Profile

Curious to see what else is on the table? The D shaped profile is very picturesque: just like the letter, the ring curves on the outside and sits flat on the inside.

Concave Profile

Last but not least, this profile is designed to be as custom as possible. It curves very subtly to create a snug, natural fit. 

The Colors in Your Vintage Engagement Ring

Take some time to ask which colors would suit you best. Classic silver and gold are the go-to choices for most, but that doesn’t mean you can’t shake it up.

Rose gold is a lovely in-between that can breathe new life into your visual direction. It’s an increasingly popular choice nowadays for those that don’t want to step too far off the beaten path. This color also functions as a warm counterpart to blue or green stones. 

Related: WHAT IS ROSE GOLD? EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

The Metals of Your Vintage Engagement Ring

Today’s engagement rings are most commonly made with a blend of different metals. These include silver, stainless steel, and titanium. Some can also be made out of blended gold.

Copper and zinc are often used to round out the blend and keep your ring sturdy for years.

How to Stack Your Vintage Engagement Ring and Wedding Band

We’re almost to the final stretch! Now that you’ve picked up some wedding ring vocabulary, it’s time to stack your rings together. 

Picking the Right Partner

It’s important to remember that picking the right combination should come from the heart. Just because one person likes a certain style doesn’t mean it’ll work for you! 

Take a few minutes to explore why you want these rings to pair together. 

Arranging Your Rings

This is the fun part! Arrange your rings together experimentally. You can draw them out on paper or do some mixing and matching on your fingers. 

Solder or Not

Are you considering soldering the rings together? Soldering might be the perfect option if you just can’t imagine them without each other. Always ask a professional to do this part!

Related: STERLING SILVER VS. WHITE GOLD: WHICH IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

Last Thoughts on Vintage Engagement Rings and Wedding Bands

Pairing your vintage engagement rings to your wedding bands is another glorious detail to attend to. It’s your special day, so go all the way!

Sort out your rings by their style, profile, and materials. Take some time to experiment with their pairings and consider a solder if you never want them separated. 

Need a little help pairing your jewelry for your wedding day? Contact LaCkore Couture today for the best selection in bespoke, stylish rings and bands.